BRIGHTON ROCK (2010 - Cert 15)

In many ways perhaps I am the perfect audience for this updated version of Graham Green's often revered novel. I've not read the book, I've not seen the 1947 adaptation starring Richard Attenborough, in fact, somehow, I've managed to get to 30 years old without being told anything substantial about either.  So, on a chilly midweek night when I utilised my brand new lifetime membership at the Prince Charles Cinema for the first time, would it prove to be a case of ignorance is bliss?



It's clear that Rowan Joffe, the first time director entrusted with this remake (although he isn't a complete novice - he had writing credits for the recent The American and 28 Weeks Later) thinks that the story is an important one as he tries to give it much more an epic and cinematic feel than is often applied to British productions. And I have to say that he makes a very good stab at it and for the most part succeeds. Big bold shots of the waves crashing in towards the seafront, with a score that very much reminded me of Taxi Driver and Shutter Island, building to a crescendo, and then falling silent - the viewer is under no illusions that something bad is going to happen. He is very daring with the camera and creates some beautifully juxtaposing shots such as one with a row of colourful, quaint houses with a huge, dark tower block directly behind it. It's a statement about the time in Britain 1964, in which the film is set, and it's when Joffe focuses on the era, rather than the original's 1930's setting, where the film works. The set up of the film, although not what it is actually about, is essentially a gangland/gangster story where a murder by Pinkie (Sam Riley) causes big ripples and must be covered up at all costs. Bringing this story into 1964 is a brave move but one that, at times, clicks into place. The Mods and Rockers descend onto Brighton and Pinky's penchant for violence and ruthless streak all of a sudden becomes something with a social context, not just a trait of that particular character. 1964 was also the year of the last hangings in the UK, so bringing the story forward any further would mean a very different fate if police caught those committing the murder. There is also an underplayed, yet I found very hard to watch scene, in which a father signs away permission for his daughter to marry, for £175. Often films will be set in a era just so that a character can wear a cool hat, but the decision of when to set Brighton Rock was one with a lot of intention.

Having said that, large parts of the film are dull and far from fresh. It may be because we are over exposed to films, TV and stories of gangsters, but the plot line involving rival gangs going after each other and eluding the law, speaking aggressively in smoky rooms and threatening revenge all got a bit boring. I even looked at my watch at one stage, which is never a good sign, especially when I wasn't wearing one.

However, as I said previously, the film isn't actually about gangsters. It's about Pinkie and his descent into madness through desperation and the lengths to which he will go to in order to avoid capture. Even more integral to proceedings is the doomed relationship, between Pinkie and Rose (Andrea Riseborough), doomed because of the control and manipulation they both have over one another, and how blind and oblivious love can be. At times, the scenes played out by the two of them are great, full of tension and boiling over with potential conflict, a hair's breadth away from violence. At others though, they feel overly laboured and, the be frank, dull. Sam Riley, who I loved in Control and was good in the strange and interesting Franklyn, is inconsistent in Brighton Rock. There are scenes where he has me totally convinced of his unpredictability, then 20 minutes later, my mind wandered and I was put off by his strange accent. Riseborough however is very good. Delicate and determined all at the same time, walking a tightrope, I sensed that she could go either way at any point. One to watch. More established names appear in the supporting cast - Helen Mirren has fun as Rose's maternal boss figure, trying to save Rose and expose Pinkie. She is as always very good. John Hurt is watchable but in a role that I couldn't help but feel was a bit pointless. Phillip Davis plays what he always plays, Phillip Davis I think. Andy Serkis plays a caricature of a rich gangster boss, sitting in his hotel room in immaculate clothes with camp overtones - decent but a bit odd (not in a good way).

So, if you haven't picked it up yet, it's a film of hits and misses. There are great scenes in there, particularly an attempted murder amongst the riots of Mods and Rockers and an escape on a scooter along the seafront. Equally though there are a number of scenes that really test the patience. It's ambitious  and brave - a remake of such a highly regarded film could have been safer with less risks, but the fact they have tried to do something interesting with the material should be commended. Plus it has an ending that really makes amends for the rest of the film. The final confrontation is tense and dark, and unexpected, but the very last scene glides towards what I thought was to be a slightly predictable, if upsetting, denouement, only to veer away at the last minute to something very different and even more hearbreaking. A great finish to an otherwise patchy film.